Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer

Bought it for my daughter who works at a local brewery. Said it was a great read!

Ambitious Brew takes you on a journey through America, often peering with a European's eye at the wealth of opportunity in an unfolding land. Maureen Ogle's tale gives little attention to the colonists, but begins with German immigrant Phillip Best in the mid-1840's. Throughout this complex story, she is like Cezanne, creating the picture with pieces of paint until the canvas takes form and presents the picture as a whole. Ogle not only tells of the development of beer, but also connects this development with key pivotal points in history - points that had served to initiate new patterns within American society. The story swings back to the seventeenth century, when rum from the West Indian and Caribbean plantations seized the market; then surges forward again, to the early nineteenth century, when "...fourteen thousand distillers were producing some twenty-five million gallons [of whiskey] each year..." Her findings portray such giants as Adolphus Busch, August Uihlein, and Frederick Pabst as men who fell into brewing by accident, and not by design. Rivalries for market share between the largest brewers were a constant, dampened only by occasional waves of temperance talk...indirect prejudices aimed at specific groups - saloon owners, corporate magnates (seen as sleazy crooks by the general public), German immigrants (targeted as a result of anti-German sentiment following WWI), liberated, loose women, and those who professed atheistic beliefs. Ogle closely analyzes the events that lead up to Prohibition, but passes quickly through the dark days like Alice through the Looking Glass. She compresses the years following WWII, portraying the post-war beer world as a conglomerate of marketers and accountants, vying for the bottom line. The tale regains its initial drama at the launch of the microbrew movement, ignited by a preference for pure, locally-produced products, championed by people such as Mike Royko, Gordon Bowker, and E. F. Schumacher. Stories of guts and ambition come alive - tales of Fritz Maytag, Jack McAuliffe, Ken Grossman, Charlie Papazian, John Siebel, Jim Koch, and the debut of light beer. She applauds Michael Jackson for his book The World Guide to Beer, a work that empowered a generation of brewers to see themselves as the large, complex community that they had become. AMBITIOUS BREW is a stimulating epic, filled with stories of fascination, competition for market share, and steady, unflinching focus by people who never saw themselves as particularly special.

Mauren Ogle has shown herself to be a historian of the first order with he latest book Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer. She has written a thorough history with enough detail to keep both the student of history and the beer geek happy. The book is as much about the American Dream as about beer. The book held my attention from start to finish and left me wanting more. The long battle for supremacy between Pabst and Anheuser-Busch was fascinating. Ms. Ogle showed that the brewers of the time were forced to continually brew lighter and lighter beers because, contrary to the claims of the microbrewing enthusiasts, that's what most of America wants. She also showed that he tend toward the bland didn't stop with beer, and that only in the last 20 years has there been a backlash, in beer, coffee and food in general. My only criticism would be that the last chapter on the microbrewery revolution left me wanting more. It seemed almost as if she wanted to say more, but was running out of space to say what she wanted.

The book really showed an expansive knowledge of American Brewers since their beginning as Corporate Giants (1800's). This is not to say beer did not exist prior, but the capacities of different outfits were never too large prior. I enjoyed the history of Carl Conrad and Adolphus Busch the most. Like most things, success comes from good business sense and accessible capital, the author makes the very clear. Not too impressed with Maytag however, who for all intensive purposes was from wealth, which I (unfariyl) see as sort of "cheating" when they've acually succeeded. Three cheers for Grossman!!!!

There are numerous 'brewer's guides' on the market and a few books which cover microbrew history; but AMBITIOUS BREW is one of the most comprehensive titles yet on how big brewers evolved in America. From early pioneers and founding fathers to immigrants who brought their brews to America, AMBITIOUS BREW follows the rise of corporate manufacturing in the country and provides a heady survey for any with more than a casual interest in beer or brewing. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch